No worries. I’m not dead. I apologize for not being able to update on a daily basis for the NAGC. After Friday, there was just no way I could keep up with writing and the convention at the same time. On the upside though, there will definitely be posts coming in the near future with game reviews and all. So there should be some good content heading your way.

On another note, my brain is rather fried at the moment. So I will probably be taking the rest of the month to take time to gather my thoughts and restructure some things around to reflect some of the insight I’ve received this past weekend. So for the rest of February, Weekly Go Wednesday will be on a temporary break. Meanwhile, I can assure you that I will be working hard to design a new system for blog content and how I can improve my study of go in order to help you gain a better understanding of my mistakes and lessons learned. Nothing to fear though, I will still be writing frequently and keeping you all posted on my progress. =)

Introduction — Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4 — Day 5 — Conclusion

Although the weather was much nicer this time around, it seems the fates were conspiring against me as I spent a good twenty minutes stuck in traffic due to an accident. Fortunately for me, I had left early enough that the delay was not going to make me incredibly late. On top of that, based on my experience yesterday, I didn’t have good reason to believe that arriving late would cause me to miss anything nor should I have worried that a huge crowd of people would suddenly appear on a Thursday night. Nonetheless, I still couldn’t help but feel anxious that I would arrive to find that the teaching/simultaneous games had started or were full.

By the time I parked my car, it was about 3 minutes prior to 7pm. I rushed into the building fully expecting to grab the first elevator and make it there just on time. Lo and behold, what do I see when I walk in the lobby? The elevators are being maintained. In case you’re not getting the full effect of what I felt, remember that the convention is on the 9th floor. (-.-)

Next thing I know, I’m bolting up 9 flights (although more like 18 since they were two flights per level) of stairs in a rush to get there on time. And when I finally make it up to the 9th floor, I am crestfallen as I look around and fail to see anyone around. The room that was setup for go lecture was full of employees holding a meeting, and the room where the we played our simul game yesterday was completely covered up.

“CRAP. Did I miss the memo about it getting cancelled or the address moving?!?!?!”

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Games

• KGS - 4 games (1 wins : 3 losses)

Tsumego

• Essential Life & Death (Vol. 2) - Pages 36 - 82

Other

• Shape Up! - Chapter 6 and 7
• Dictionary of Modern Fuseki: Korean Style - Patterns 1 - 6

Thoughts

Although I did manage to end my losing streak this week, I am still traversing the depths of my broken go. This week has been rather unfruitful in regards to training and playing games, but it is probably for the best. With the two days of the North American Go Convention under my belt though, I’m starting to feel like I might be getting somewhere. Not to mention, this week has been full of surprises and I have a good feeling that this may be the start of something really incredible. This is not just in reference to my playing ability, but also in regards to the entire spectrum of go and its impact on my life. More on it when the time is right, but for now, I can assure you that I will not be taking any breaks from go in the near future. =)

Introduction — Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4 — Day 5 — Conclusion

The day got off to a rather dreary start as I spent about an hour in rainy traffic trying to make my way down to the event. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I found myself standing outside the building wondering how to get in. There was construction going on and with all the doors locked down I was running around trying to figure out how to get in for about 10 minutes. Thankfully someone was kind enough to let me in on their way out.

As I rode the elevator up to the 9th floor, I was a little anxious as I expected a bit of a crowd since I was running late. Although I think the real concern for me was missing the opportunity to play a teaching/game with the professionals. When I arrived however, there were only around six to eight people in the waiting area. For those who aren’t aware, the North American Go Convention (NAGC) is a two part convention that started out in New Jersey and made its way down to DC. With the traffic and crummy weather, the bus was unfortunately running late and thus everything was pushed back. So all my rushing to get there on time was for naught. xD On the upside, it gave me a chance to settle down and catch my breath.

While sitting in the waiting area, I couldn’t help but overhear as people were talking about their strengths and how long they’d been studying. There were a few Korean players and a couple Chinese players. The two younger players (around my age) had apparently started studying when they were around 5 years old and were 7 dan and 4 dan respectively. You can only imagine how I felt when I realized that I was the only kyu player in the room. Haha.

As if things couldn’t get worse, one of the moms asked me later on how strong I was. After all the conversation in the room about how the children were dans and had started studying go since they were young, I think she just naturally expected me to say I was X dan. When I responded that I was 6 kyu, she gave me a quizzical look as if she had never heard of the rank. In fact, someone even asked, “So wait, is 6 kyu higher than 1 kyu?”

“Dear lord,” I thought, “They don’t even recognize the kyu levels.” hangs head in shame

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For my final game in ASR, I’m happy to report that it seems my losing streak has come to an end. Although based on previous experience, the single win is nowhere near indicative of whether the streak will truly end or whether it is simply an anomaly amongst the actual pattern of continued losing.

Contrary to how things used to be though, I don’t feel particularly relieved that I won. In fact, it seems that I still feel the weight of some invisible force pressing down on me. Hard to say whether this is good or bad, but it still seems that I am not out of the woods quite yet. There is still a bit of soul searching to be done.

In regards to my training, I do want to clarify that even though it sounds like I’ve been trying to change it every few days, the reality of it is that I have gained a better understanding of where my time is best spent. So in regards to what I had planned for February, nothing has really changed. My goal to study Korean material continues to go on and the only real change that has been made is that I no longer have the goal of staying in Alpha class for the ASR League. By eliminating this goal, I’m hoping to spend more quality time on the rest of the goals I had for February.

On a more upbeat note, the North American Go Convention will be starting tomorrow! To be honest, I’m not quite sure what to expect; but I’m excited to find out what is in store for me. So be sure to be on the lookout for those posts in the near future!

Games

• KGS - 12 games (1 wins : 11 losses)
• Tygem - 7 game (0 wins : 7 loss)

Tsumego

• Essential Life & Death (Vol. 1) - Complete
• Essential Life & Death (Vol. 2) - Pages 8 - 35

Other

• Shape Up! - No Progress

Thoughts

I am having a rough week. Besides a nice solid win, it’s been nothing been getting demolished. I feel that my reading is improving a bit, but overall I think my go has sunk to a 10k level. I’m not sure where my head is anymore. It’s not so much that I’m on tilt and just losing strings of games, but it’s more like I’m getting numb and have completely lost my focus. An absolutely terrible state to be in for go.

After some discussion with frozen, I also think it’s best that I forgo my ASR League duties for the month. I still plan on playing one of my classmates twice before dropping (you know who you are =D), but otherwise I think it’s time that I spent my time elsewhere to prevent me from taking a break from go. I’ve seem to hit a rather large roadblock that is rather daunting at the moment. =(

It’s definitely been a tough week, but I will confront my demons and try to continue moving forward. After all, it is precisely these moments that we are given an opportunity to prove our resilience and capacity to grow to the next level. Here’s to the uphill battle that I’m about to embark on. Wish me luck.

Upon trying to continue my study of Lee Sedol’s book, I have realized that it will be impossible for me to properly study it. While it is easy to simply replay the moves, I realized that simply going through the motions was not doing me any good. I want to try and absorb as much of his explanations as much as possible, and frankly with my schedule I simply don’t have the time to do so unless I let everything else in my life go to a complete mess. =D So I’ll be shelving the book for this month, but no worries, that is all the training adjustments that will happen for this month. Onward I go!

Man…. it’s only day four of February’s training regimen and I can already feel the weight of it bearing down on me. On top of that, I’m playing even more even games with players 5+ stones stronger than me and getting crushed left and right. Not feeling bad about myself or anything, but definitely slightly winded. The good thing is that I think I’m starting to become more immune to losing, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s true. =D

As I continue to try and analyze the gaps in my ability, I’ve found that watching other people’s games has been helpful in reinforcing my understanding of the game. While I find myself wanting to yell at the screen when people choose a variation that is in favor of their opponent, the experience is quite humorous as a whole and helps me to see the gaps in other players’ knowledge; which in turn helps to fill mine.

Nonetheless, it seems I’m a track to straight losses in ASR; but hopefully I can rack up enough points to stay in the class. Here’s to hoping!

After an awesome discussion with Feather , I’ve been inspired to start another weekly series in order to give you a glimpse into my world of go. It will be a high level overview of my progress every week and will be released every Friday at 5:00 PM. Let me know what you think and I can always update the format if people want!

Games

• KGS - 9 games (4 wins : 5 losses)
• Tygem - 1 game (0 wins : 1 loss)

Tsumego

• 1001 Life and Death Problems - #851 - 1001
• Essential Life & Death (Vol. 1) - Pages 1-33

Other

• Commented Games by Lee Sedol - Game #1 - Part 1
• Shape Up! - Introduction & Chapters 1 - 3

Thoughts

Overall, it’s been a rather eventful week since the ASR League was wrapping up and the final points were being tallied. The good news is that I managed to get promoted to Alpha!!! Woot woot! I know that some people will say, “It’s easy to get to Alpha. Just play a lot of games.” To you I say that may be true if you actually win some of your games, but otherwise it’s near impossible since your points rack up so slowly compared to people who win a majority of their games.

Since February is going to be a short month, it seems I will be going on another ranked game sabbatical since I will have my hands full trying to stay in Alpha class and also keeping up with my study schedule for the month. Not to mention that North American Go Convention is this month as well, and that will take out four days of studying/playing. So lots to do this month, and very little time. Something’s got to give right? =) Here’s to the start of a crazy month! Ikuzo!

Last night I had the opportunity to play my first game of rengo ever! For those wondering what rengo is, it is pair go! You essentially alternate turns with your teammates. Obviously, the trickiest part is trying to make sure your strategy is not conflicting with your opponents.

As I look back on it, it was a lot of fun. It’s very interesting to see the game through so many different perspectives. Thinking as a collective mind and trying to understand the minds of your opponents makes the game on a much more global level than local fights. At least that’s how I felt when I played. (^.^) For the game record, see the end of the post.

Definitely something I would recommend players to experience (if they can find a partner that they feel comfortable with). It is a lot of fun and definitely helps you avoid being one track minded about things.

On another note, tomorrow will be the official start of my Korean Style Study. For those curious as to what I’m planning on doing, here’s the outline:

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